Awesome post, Craig. This one hits home from back in my consulting days but your tips can easily carry over into the in-house realms. I especially like number 4 in the "cure ahead" section of the post and don't think too many of us know when it's time to say goodbye.On a side note, why so many thumbs downs on the comments? Someone having a bad morning?

Awesome post, Jamie. Going to go ahead and say this is one of the best posts I've read in a while and will be referencing this for some time to come (I'm one of the less tech savvy marketers but understand the power a technical marketer can bring to the table). Thanks for sharing.

Excellent post Pete. Your advice "Get Over It" is spot on in my opinion. Being on the agency end of things for a while, I spent quite a bit of time helping clients get over what their competitors were doing and developing campaigns that would help increase brand awareness on small[er] budgets. Competitive analysis is a must but by no means should it be the end all be all and too many small businesses do not grasp this in my experience.

Awesome post Pete. I have been in the industry for about 5 and a half years and your "Stop Comparing Yourself" point def hits home with me. While there's certainly nothing wrong with looking up to and turning to "experts" for advice and tips, it seems that many SEOs (myself included) try to hard to mimick what others are doing instead of picking something and doing it until they are good at it.

Another point I feel is worth mentioning -- "Overlooking the Team Aspect of SEO/Marketing" -- I grew up playing team sports and am still active with them to this date and I feel that you can compare SEO/marketing to team sports. Of course, you want to make a name for yourself in any profession and be looked at as a standout but at the same time, surrounding yourself with a great "team" is ultimately what will get you to that level I feel. This can go hand in hand with "Bite Off 20% Too Much" -- yes, force yourself to keep learning by default but learning becomes a lot easier when you surround yourself with a great team.

Again, awesome post! It's great to see posts geared towards those just getting into SEO but that also reinforces advice for more intermediate SEO's.

have been waiting to see the results of this survey and I appreciate you making the raw data available. Pretty surprised by the "by the project" numbers. Will be interested in seeing any follow up studies / posts on this topic. Good stuff!

Steve, that's actually a solid write up, thanks for sharing. Do you agree with Rand that Market Motive is towards the top of the list? Appreciate any feedback. I am somewhat skeptical of an "SEO course" but wouldn't be opposed to trying one out if it gets a lot of positive feedback ... thanks again

thanks for the response, I also agree with your statement that we are in "need of a program that helps early talent in the field become mature professionals" ... not only that, I feel like some sort of "seal of approval" (in addition to your standard partnerships) will go a long way when it comes time for business owners to choose a digital marketing company.